The present invention pertains to an otoscope tip. More particularly, the invention pertains to a disposable otoscope tip stacking system.
Otoscopes are used by medical personnel primarily for examination of external auditory canals and less frequently for examining nasal passages. A standard otoscope includes a handle, a shaft and a head. The shaft extends from the handle, and the head is secured on top of the shaft. The handle is generally made of stainless steel, while the head and shaft may be made from either stainless steel or formed hard plastic. The stainless steel handle typically is silver in color, while the color of the shaft and head will vary depending upon the type of material from which each is made. If the shaft or head are made of stainless steel, then they will also be silver in color. If they are made of formed hard plastic, then they are generally black in color.
The head of a standard otoscope includes a magnifying lens and a light to enlarge and illuminate a targeted area for examination. The head may also include a port which is connected to an inner lumen having an outlet within an annular opening that is across a front of the otoscope head. A disposable tip having a conical shape is attached across the annular opening at the front of the head of the otoscope to direct the field of view onto the small targeted area. The conical shape of the disposable tip facilitates examination of the external auditory canal or nasal passage. If the head of the otoscope includes a port, then air is typically blown through the lumen, out of the outlet, into the disposable tip and across the targeted area to observe movement of hair filaments.
There are primarily two types of otoscopes used which represent approximately eighty percent of all otoscopes. The first type is a diagnostic or notch style otoscope, and the second type is a pneumatic or friction style otoscope. The significant difference between the two types of otoscopes is the manner in which the disposable tip is attached to the head of the otoscope.
The disposable tip in the diagnostic or notch style of otoscope is attached to the head of the otoscope by a key-way system. The head generally includes a key-way, or notch, around the surface defining the annular opening that receives the disposable tip. Likewise, the disposable tip has a key, or a radial outward extension formed along its outer surface to mate with the key-way on the surface defining the annular opening at the head of the otoscope. The disposable tip is then twisted into the annular opening of the otoscope head. Once the disposable tip is secured to the head of the otoscope, the otoscope can be used to view into the ear or nose of a patient during a medical examination.
The smaller end of the conical disposable tip defines the targeted area, or field of view. The smaller sized end of the disposable tip typically has one of two different size diameters, 2.5 millimeters and 4.0 millimeters. The size of the diameter that is used depends upon the size of the canal or passage being examined, which is generally related to the age of the individual being examined. Babies and young children generally require use of the smaller 2.5 millimeter diameter tip, while the larger 4.0 millimeter diameter tip can be used with older children and adults.
The disposable tip, however, does not always stay attached to the head of the notched style otoscope. The disposable tip may become unattached if the key on the disposable tip was not mated correctly with the key-way on the surface defining the annular opening of the otoscope head when it was secured. Additionally, during the examination, the disposable tip may be twisted or turned causing the disposable tip to fall off of the head of the otoscope.
The second style of otoscope, the pneumatic or friction style, attaches the disposable tip to the head of the otoscope by friction. The disposable tip is held onto the surface defining the annular opening of the head of the otoscope by contact between the two surfaces. Movement of the otoscope during the examination tends to loosen this connection. Also, a loose connection may result from the disposable tip not having been sufficiently secured or pushed onto the surface defining the annular opening. Both situations can result in the disposable tip falling off of the head of the otoscope during the examination. The friction style attachment between the disposable tip and the annular opening of the head of the otoscope thus does not provide a very secure means of connection. The disposable tip used with the pneumatic or friction style of otoscope also typically includes openings having either a diameter of 2.5 millimeters or 4.0 millimeters at its smaller diameter end.
Medical personnel within the same facility may use both the notch and the friction style of otoscope. Medical facilities are then forced to stock both types of disposable tips. Because each type of disposable tip has a smaller and a larger opening to define the viewing area, the medical facility is required to maintain and stock at least four different types of disposable tips.
The four different types of disposable tips are normally stacked in a dispenser mounted on a wall in the examining room. The dispenser generally includes four columns, one for each style and size of disposable tip. The tips are vertically stacked on top of each other and protrude out of the dispenser through a hole at a bottom of each of the columns. When a disposable tip is required for an examination, the desired tip is pulled out of the opening in the bottom of each column. However, the disposable tips, which are stacked on top of each other, tend to stick together. When one tip is pulled out from the opening in the bottom of the dispenser, multiple tips may be stuck together and are pulled out of the dispenser with it. This will require that either the extra tips be restacked, which is a nuisance to the examining physician or medical personnel, or be disposed of, which is wasteful and increases the medical facilities overall cost.
Another problem arises in attempting to use either of the two standard types of otoscopes when examining a young child. The standard otoscopes are uninviting and intimidating to a young child. A young child is unfamiliar with and typically frightened by the otoscope. Young children will typically resist allowing medical personnel to examine them with the otoscope. This usually results in the child's parent or other medical personnel restraining the child in order to conduct the examination. The child's fear and the difficulty of restraining them is only exacerbated when a child has an ailment, such as when they may have an ear infection. The child's sensitivity in the area to be examined, such as the ear, only heightens their uneasiness and fear of the foreign otoscope instrument.
There is no known otoscope disposable tip stacking system which prevents multiple tips from sticking together, is inviting to children and standardizes a positive and secure connection between a disposable tip and an otoscope.